Knight
by Miss Doracat
Summary: The fair is usually a place where people of all ages can go have fun, but sometimes there's a little more than excitement in the air. Implied Wang Dora X El Matadora. One-shot


**Wang Dora P.O.V.**

I crossed my arms as a chilly breeze hit me. Winter has never been my cup of tea.

"Hey, Wang!"

My ears angled towards Dora-Rinho, who had spoken. I didn't want to move.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"When are the others coming?" Rinho asked back.

"I don't know, but they better hurry up!" I growled in response.

My whole body shivered as it was suddenly hit with extreme cold. The breeze caught my shirt, and now cold air was getting all up my back and belly. It drained away what little body heat was trapped in there.

I tried my best to flatten my shirt back down so the freezing wind would stop getting inside. My fur was rather short and didn't do much to keep me warm.

Ugh, why didn't I bring a jacket? Or maybe some pants… My legs and face were especially cold since they were exposed to the chilly weather.

"Wang! Here comes someone!"

Doraemon's cry of excitement dragged me back to real life. I really need to stop wandering off into space like that…

"Who is it?" I asked.

"It's Dora the Kid!" Rinho answered before Doraemon could speak.

"Oh! And there's Dora-Nichov right behind him!" Doraemon shouted.

It's about time someone else got here. I'm itching to get going.

Rinho excitedly greeted Kid and Nichov as they approached. Kid looked excited as well, while Nichov was expressionless like usual. I wonder how he can conceal his emotions so well.

After everyone greeted each other, we all waited for Dora-Med lll and El Matadora to arrive. I have to admit though, I'm a little nervous about Matadora coming. I really don't want to get in a fight with him and have the whole trip ruined. We all came here to have fun.

...

My heart pounded nervously as I watched Matadora approach us. He was the last one to arrive, which is understandable considering his home country was one of the farthest away and he couldn't travel as fast as Kid and Rinho. The large smile on his face reassured me that he won't be getting aggressive with me, or anyone else.

He actually greeted me with kindness. I was both surprised and relieved when he gave me a wholehearted, "Hello Wang!". Maybe we won't fight for once.

"H-hey, Matadora. Looking forward to this?" I greeted back.

"You bet I am!"

There was excitement in his voice, something I don't hear often. It certainly helped calm my nerves.

"Alright you guys, I know we don't do these kinds of things all that often, but let's try our best to get along and have a good time," Doraemon said loudly to address all of us.

Everyone gave me and Matadora a quick glance. Although I will admit we fight quite often, I think we can be trusted to be alone together. We're both in good moods, what are the chances of us getting angry at each other?

Matadora, who happened to be standing beside me, rolled his eyes at the concerned looks of the others.

"You guys worry too much," he said.

"Can we just get going? I want to have some fun before it gets too late!" Kid growled.

"Yes, yes, sorry. Now since this is just the fair, we don't need tickets. It's like… a dollar per person to get in or something. I'll be paying for that, so don't worry. Once we get in we all get a wristband and we can do whatever we want!" Doraemon announced.

The rest of us, including me, were obviously quite flattered at Doraemon's generosity. Some of the others offered to pay for themselves, but Doraemon refused.

"It's only seven bucks, no big deal," he told us.

"I suppose… I still feel bad though," Matadora said.

"Don't! We're here to have a good time, not argue over money!" Doraemon growled.

"Good point…"

...

I gazed curiously down at my wristband. It was made out of some strong paper-like material.

"Okay, does everyone have a wristband?" Doraemon asked.

Everyone nodded, including myself.

"Great! Now you can go to any attraction you want!"

Doraemon's announcement sent everyone eagerly running off in a random direction.

My heart pounded nervously when I realized Matadora was still beside me. Is he intentionally following me?

"So Wang, what attraction are you gonna try out first?" Matadora asked.

The question caught me off guard. I think he's _wanting_ to be with me… But why?

"Uhh… whatever looks fun I guess…," I murmured in response.

My entire body seemed to sink low as I looked around for a ride. There appeared to be just booths in this area. I wasn't a big fan of those, unless they had a prize I really wanted.

"The ring toss game usually has really cool prizes," Matadora said suddenly.

I sighed quietly at the name. Of all the little game booths out there, the ring toss was my least favorite because it always offered awesome prizes, but it was practically impossible to win. To me, it was nothing but a waste of money and time.

"No thanks," I replied.

"Aww, really?"

A sense of discomfort washed over me at Matadora's tone. He sounded genuinely disappointed. Why is he all of a sudden expressing his emotions like this around me?

"Sorry, I just prefer to go on rides at places like this," I said.

Matadora looked around, scanning all of the attractions around us.

"What kind of rides?" he asked as he strained his neck to look farther.

"Well, I didn't really word that well. I'll take anything that isn't a game booth, from a roller coaster to a haunted house," I answered.

Matadora suddenly grinned.

"What about the attraction behind you?" he asked.

I slowly turned around, honestly expecting this to be a prank. I nearly squealed when I saw what Matadora was talking about.

"They have a bounce house?!"

I sprinted off towards my favorite childhood "party favor" before Matadora had a chance to respond. My heart was beating at seemingly ten thousand miles an hour as I approached the entrance. Matadora ran up behind me.

"I take it you like these things," he said teasingly.

"I _loved_ bounce houses when I was younger. I haven't been in one in years though… I'm probably too big for it now," I answered.

Turns out I was right. There was a sign that showed a height limit. The little piece of wood that stuck out so you could measure went to my chest. I'm a few years too late.

"Looks like we can't get in…," I murmured.

"Not in this one at least."

Matadora and I both turned towards the voice. A lady was standing by the entrance to the bounce house. Wait… a g-girl?

My face went red. I turned away from her, my eyes tightly shut. Matadora simply shook his head at me.

"Uhh… are you saying that there's another bounce house?" he asked.

"Yep, and it's a lot bigger than this one. You'll have to go to the other side fairgrounds, though. Do you need me to give you directions?" the lady replied.

"Th-that won't beeee n-n-necessaaarrryyy…," I stammered.

My body was starting to twitch, just like it always does when I'm around girls. I tried to walk away, but Matadora had me by the collar of my shirt. Ugh, I really don't want to look like some drunk wacko.

"Are you okay, mister?" the lady asked.

Matadora chuckled at that.

"He's fine, he just can't handle girls because he's a wimp."

"Th-th-that's n-not truueee!" I protested as I started to lose my composure.

"Dude, you look like you're having a seizure. You're twitching and convulsing all over the place."

"C-can we j-j-just g-get g-g-g-going?"

Matadora chuckled once again.

"Alright, alright. Thanks for the info, miss."

He half-dragged me by the collar of my shirt out of the bounce house area and down the path towards the other side of the fairgrounds. I immediately started to relax once the bounce house was out of sight. Now that I was regaining my composure, I didn't appreciate Matadora walking me along like I was a misbehaving child.

"You can let go of me now," I growled.

Matadora chuckled and released his grip.

"You really hate it when I treat you like a kid, don't you?" he asked.

His smug tone irritated me. Of course I hate it!

"Why wouldn't I? I'm fully grown, and besides, you're not my dad!" I hissed.

"Maybe not, but I _am_ older than you," Matadora said.

"Only by a year…," I muttered, crossing my arms.

An icy gust cut our conversation short. I looked over at Matadora and froze. All of his fur had stood up in an attempt to keep him warm, making him look super fluffy.

"Why does the fair always come during the winter?" he growled, shivering from the drop in temperature.

The anger faded from his expression when our gazes met. He looked curious.

"Are you… _blushing_ at me?" he asked softly.

A wave of embarrassment hit me. What am I doing? I shook my head to clear my mind and hopefully the supposed blush as well.

"A-am I?" I asked back, rubbing the side of my head sheepishly.

"Your cheeks did look a little red, but now they're back to normal… Maybe it was my imagination, or just the cold," Matadora said as he crossed his arms.

I nodded slowly in agreement, not really sure what to say. Was I really blushing at him? I tend to blush when I see a girl, or something cute… Did I unconsciously see Matadora as… _cute_ with his fur fluffed out? "Cute" was one of the last words I'd generally use to describe him…

Matadora cleared his throat to break the awkward silence between us.

"Let's get going… Maybe there will be some warmth in the bounce house."

...

Matadora and I stared in amazement at the gigantic bounce house in front of us. It was much bigger than either of us were expecting. Despite how inviting it looked, there didn't seem to be a whole lot of activity inside. Usually these things were shaking and swaying all over the place with the weight of all the bouncing children inside, but this one was completely still, as if there was nobody inside.

"Are you two here for the bounce house?"

Matadora and I turned to the boy who had spoken.

"Yes, we are," Matadora answered.

"Sweet! Before you climb inside, let me explain the rules to you. You see, in this bounce house everyone plays a game together. Right now we're playing a game called 'Knight'," the boy explained.

"Knight"? I've never heard of that game before.

"How do you play?" I asked.

"One person is a dragon, and everyone else is in teams of two. In these teams, one person is the knight, and the other is the king or queen. The knight must protect the king or queen from the dragon. This bounce house is designed to be like a maze, and you must get through without getting eaten by the dragon. If the dragon finds you, the knight must fight it. The winner of the battle is up to them. If you get eaten, you have to start over. It's fun!" the boy explained.

Well, that explains why the bounce house isn't moving. Nobody's able to jump around!

"What do you think, Wang? Should we play?" Matadora asked.

"It sounds like it could be fun," I said.

Matadora smiled warmly at me, but I didn't notice.

"Alright, we'll play," he said.

The boy used eenie-meenie-minie-moe to choose the knight. It ended up being Matadora.

"Since you two are alone, I'll put you on a team," the boy said.

He gave Matadora a cheap plastic sword and me a crown.

"Have fun, boys!"

I crawled into the bounce house without hesitation. Matadora interrupted me, however, and pulled me back out by my foot.

"Ow! What are you doing?!" I demanded.

"I'm the knight, so I should go first! It's my job to protect you!" Matadora said.

He was smiling despite his threatening tone. I sighed and moved out of the way so he could get inside. I was tempted to drag him out like he did to me to give him a taste of his own medicine, but I decided not to. The last thing I want right now is a fight to break out.

Once Matadora's feet disappeared inside the blue mass, I crawled in after him. The inside was much more narrow than I was expecting. It was like those scenes in movies where they crawl around in the air vents, except we were surrounded by multi-colored rubber instead of metal.

Together the two of us started making our way through the maze. I had to admit, I wasn't very happy with my view of the situation.

"How long do we have to stay in this position?" I asked.

"I dunno, why do you ask?" Matadora asked back.

"I really don't want to stare at your backside this entire time."

I could hear him scoff over all the hissing from the bounce house.

"I wouldn't be any happier staring at yours, so just deal with it. Besides, I took a shower this morning!" he growled.

"Have you already forgotten that I'm the king? Don't be rude to me!" I barked.

"Yeah, and I'm your knight! Without me, you'd have no chance against the dragon lurking around in here!"

I didn't know what to say. Although I didn't want to admit it, he had a point.

"That's what I thought," Matadora said after a moment of silence.

He continued onwards. I grumbled under my breath and followed him. A fight is definitely going to happen at this rate.

We crawled around for a while until Matadora found a closed off area for us to temporarily hide in. The dragon had yet to come near us, which both relieved and worried me. It felt nice to take a break for a little.

I laid down in the back corner of the room, just in case the dragon came by. Matadora sat down near the entrance, but also near the wall so he couldn't be spotted as easily.

The air leaking from the walls and "floor" wasn't much warmer than the air outside. I was still pretty cold, but I tried not to show it. I don't want Matadora making fun of me. He didn't seem to be paying any attention to me, thankfully.

I tried not to shiver from the cold air blowing on me. Winter was puny back at home; it only lasted a couple months and the temperature never got below freezing. My fur is pretty short and thin because of this. It can't really trap heat that well.

Speaking of fur, I'm surprised Matadora wasn't appearing to be cold at all. It didn't get very cold where he lived either so his fur isn't much thicker than mine. Well, now that I think about it, he's probably just trying to act tough.

"You okay, Wang?"

I mentally sighed at Matadora's question. It would be stupid to lie about something as domestic as being cold.

"I'm just cold…," I murmured.

"Oh. Allow me to fix that, my king."

Matadora crawled over to me and pressed his body up against mine before I had time to react. My entire face turned beat red.

"Wh-what are you doing?!" I demanded, failing to hide how embarrassed I was.

"You'll warm up easily if we share our body heat," Matadora said.

He wrapped his arms around me and leaned back against the wall so I would sort of fall into his lap. My heart was pounding so hard I worried it would burst out of my chest. Despite how panicked my mind was, my body was starting to relax as it warmed up. Matadora felt me go limp and slightly tightened his grip around my belly.

"See, isn't that better?" he asked softly.

"You're so warm…," I murmured.

My eyes started to grow heavy. It must be getting really late. Due to time zone differences, Matadora was wide awake. He could sit there for hours on end if he wanted to, although I'd imagine he'd soon starting getting sleepy due to his napping habits.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked.

"I'm your knight, remember? It's my duty to serve you and make you happy," Matadora answered.

I blushed at that. I know it's just a game, but that last part sounded… _genuine_ …

Ugh! I shouldn't be letting him confuse me like this! I guess it's because it's late… My bedtime is probably coming up soon… I wish there was a way to tell the time.

I rolled over onto my side and curled up. My head rested on Matadora's leg as if it was a pillow. Matadora's paw suddenly rubbing the top of my head made my drowsiness worse. Jeez, we came in here to play a game and now I'm fighting to stay awake in my rival's lap!

Now that I was somewhat warm, I just wanted to sleep. Matadora's massaging wasn't helping, but I had to admit, it felt pretty nice. I could barely keep my eyes open. I badly wanted to just fall asleep right then and there, but since I don't take naps I'd sleep till morning. Matadora would have to wake me up, and then I'll be groggy and in a sour mood.

My eyes widened when I felt Matadora gently pushing me out of his lap. I stayed in the same position when he repeatedly whispered for me not to move. I'm pretty sure every muscle in my entire body clenched up as I felt him lay down behind me.

My heart started racing again. Has he forgotten that the whole knight thing is just a game? I blushed darkly when he wrapped his arms back around me. My whole body flinched as he pushed our bodies together.

"Why are you flinching, dear Wang?" Matadora asked.

I didn't answer for a moment.

"I'm just... not used to this kinda stuff..."

Matadora chuckled softly.

"I'm not going to hurt you or anything, I promise. You can trust me."

"It's not that I'm worried you're gonna attack me, I just didn't expect you to start cuddling with me," I said.

"By cuddling we can share body heat, and you can warm up. But, of course, that's not the only way. We can always share body heat the more _exciting_ way," Matadora murmured in a semi-flirtatious tone, holding me even closer.

I immediately got the hint and was halfway out the room before Matadora even realized I had moved.

"Heeeyyy! Come on, it was a joke!" Matadora called, dragging me back in.

"You shouldn't joke about that kind of stuff," I growled.

I tried to look serious, but my blush betrayed how embarrassed I was.

"I'm just messing around, relax!" Matadora huffed.

I simply crossed my arms, not wanting to continue the argument. After a moment of silence, Matadora got up and crawled towards the only entrance to the room.

"We should probably get going," he said.

He crawled back out into the narrow corridor and went on towards the exit to the bounce house. I slowly followed him, still flattered about earlier. It shocked me when he started…. _spooning me_ ….. He was the last person I'd expect to receive that sort of affection from.

His fur was so warm though… For whatever reason I guess he just expels more body heat than I do… I'm kind of glad he stopped cuddling me, because otherwise I probably would've fallen asleep. Now that I'm getting cold again, my sleepiness had gone out the window.

"Dead end," Matadora said suddenly.

I nearly ran into him when he stopped moving.

"So we have to go back now?" I asked.

"Apparently so."

Both of us looked around.

"How are you going to get around me?" I dared to wonder.

"I guess I'll have to climb over you…," Matadora said. "Just lay down on your back."

I did as I was told and covered my face so I wouldn't get hit. My heart pounded as I heard shuffling, presumably Matadora turning around. I tensed up when he crawled up to me.

He gingerly started stepping over me. There was less room than we thought, and our bodies ended up getting squished together. It only made my heart beat faster to feel Matadora's weight on top of me as he attempted to squeeze past me. Matadora only crawled a little before stopping.

"I don't think there's enough room for me to get through," he said.

"C-c-can you get off me then?" I asked.

"Am I hurting you?"

There was concern in Matadora's tone.

"It's not that, we're just in an awkward position…," I muttered, looking away so Matadora couldn't see my blush.

"Come on! I'm not trying to do this, you know."

"How can I trust you not to make a move on me?"

"It's illegal to do that kinda stuff in a public place. Besides, you already made it clear you're not interested."

A thought suddenly hit me.

"I thought you said you were joking about that offering," I said.

"Shut up, let's just focus on the task at hand."

...

"Now that wasn't so bad, was it?" Matadora asked teasingly.

"I guess not…," I growled, my cheeks red.

After we had stopped arguing, we came to a decision on how to get out of our predicament. Matadora had to squeeze past me from the side. It wasn't as awkward as him climbing on top of me, but it still made me both physically and emotionally uncomfortable to feel him rub against me as he passed. I seriously hope nobody ever finds out about this, especially the other members…

"Now that I'm in front of you again, let's carry on," Matadora said.

He started crawling back through the tunnels before I could respond. I silently followed him.

At this point I felt like my heart was going to explode if Matadora kept putting me through these episodes of extreme embarrassment and discomfort. I was eager to get outside where I could have some fresh air and not worry about getting squished into a sexual position.

"Wait."

I stopped in my tracks. Is the dragon here?

"What's wrong?" I asked quietly.

"I think someone's nearby," Matadora whispered in response.

He continued to crawl, but his pace was much slower. I could see his fur standing up a little. Whether that was from being alert or cold was debatable, though.

A pang of nervousness hit me. I could hear someone moving around on the other side of the wall. Maybe it's the dragon.

Matadora slowed down even more as the movements got louder. Someone was approaching. I stepped back a little to give Matadora some space if this ended up in a fight. Matadora came to a complete stop and waited silently for the other person to approach. He rested his paw on his pocket, where his sword was.

When the other person finally came into sight, it was obvious who they were. A young boy was wearing a huge cardboard box over his head, cut and painted to look like a dragon.

"Dragon!" Matadora shouted, pulling out his fake sword.

The "dragon" reared his head and snarled at us. A sudden rush of adrenaline hit me from out of nowhere. I backed up even more, bursting with energy despite how weak I was purposely making myself look.

"Don't worry King Wang, I'll protect you from this monster!"

Matadora's tone was a confusing mix between silliness, anger, and seriousness. Despite how obviously fake our equipment was, this game was feeling very _real_... on an emotional level, at least. I can't tell if Matadora is really wanting to keep me safe and happy, or he's just manipulating his tone to sound serious when he's actually just messing around. How could a game so simple cause such a confusing jumble of emotions inside me?

Matadora pounced at the dragon, and the two commenced a fake fight. They tried their best to simulate a real battle without causing any harm. I watched in silence, my heart pounding from the adrenaline still flowing through my veins. I wished I could join the fight.

A faint smile grew on my face as I watched Matadora squish his flimsy weapon into the side of his opponent, pretending to stab him. The "dragon" roared and started to try and fake-bite Matadora. He flipped over on top of the Spanish robot cat, putting him in quite a predicament.

"You will not win, dragon! I won't let you hurt King Wang!" Matadora growled, smiling.

I felt my cheeks get hot. I'm blushing again! Growling softly, I shook my head. Why am I letting Matadora's words get inside my mind like this? It's just a game!

Matadora and the "dragon" wrestled around a little more before the tables were turned. Matadora found a way to slither his way between the "dragon" and the wall so that now he was on top. He fake-stabbed the "dragon" multiple times, his smile growing every time.

My heart pounded faster. I think the battle's coming to an end. If so, that means Matadora won…

The "dragon" attempted to attack Matadora a few more times before going still and pretending to die. Panting softly, Matadora got off him and went back over to me. He had a huge smirk on his face.

"The dragon is defeated, my Lord. Now you can live in peace without having to worry about him bothering you. You're safe now," he said, bowing in the best way he could in the small space.

I couldn't hide my blush.

"Come, let us leave this place."

Matadora held out his paw to me as he spoke. I took it, my blush darkening. Matadora stared deep into my eyes for a moment, his smirk fading into a warm smile. I could see courage in his own eyes. Courage and something else… something I didn't recognize.

Without a word, he turned around and led me through the maze. I stared down at my paws as we crawled. This was definitely a night I wasn't going to forget.

...

A wave of ice-cold air hit us in unison. The exit was in sight at last. Both of our fur fluffed out as we hurried towards the end of the tunnel. I was eager to be able to stand and walk around again.

Matadora slowly climbed out through the exit and back onto solid ground. He immediately turned around and offered me his paw.

"Here, let me help you get out, my king," he said.

I froze for a second. That unfamiliar glimmer was back in his eyes. What is that?

I took his paw and used it to help me get out without falling. We returned the sword and crown to the boy by the entrance and went on our way.

"That was fun," Matadora murmured once we were out of earshot.

I looked down at the ground.

"Yeah."

The temperature seems to have dropped while we were in the bounce house. I was on the verge of shivering. In a rather pointless attempt to warm up a little, I crossed my arms and pressed my legs together.

"Do you need to use the bathroom?"

My ears drooped a little in embarrassment. How does he notice everything?

"No, my legs are just cold…," I muttered.

"Oh. Not much I can do about that."

I didn't respond. Seriously, why didn't I think of wearing thicker clothes? I knew it was gonna be cold…

"What do you wanna do now?" Matadora asked after a long silence.

"I don't know, honestly. We can try some of the game booths," I replied.

"I thought you said you didn't want to do any of those."

Should've known he was gonna say that…

"Well, I guess I can watch you play. Which ones do you like?" I inquired, changing the subject before Matadora had a chance to tease me.

"I love the ones where you throw things. I dunno why, it's just fun to watch all the cans or whatever explode everywhere from the force of the ball," Matadora answered.

I nodded thoughtfully.

"Those are pretty common. A lot of people must like them," I said.

"Yeah. Maybe one of the others will want to join us."

The thought of a third person coming relieved me. I'd love for them to take Matadora's attention off of me for a bit. Don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying this trip with him, I'm just tired of getting into awkward situations.

"I have no idea where anyone is," I said.

"Same here. Hopefully we'll run into someone."

...

"'Throw the bean bag at the cartons of milk… Knock them all down to win a prize… Each time you get them all, your prize increases in size…' This one sounds fun," Matadora murmured to himself.

We had spent nearly fifteen minutes wandering around trying to find one of the other members. The only one we saw was Dora-Med lll, but he was too tired to do anything anymore. After that we decided to just start playing games, although Matadora was the only one playing.

"You gonna give it a try?" I asked.

"Yeah, I think I will," Matadora answered as he took out his wallet.

Doraemon had converted everyone's money into the same currency to make things easier. The gadget he used also made everyone know what the values were so nobody would get confused. It was pretty useful.

Matadora picked up a bean bag and stared at the stack of empty milk cartons thoughtfully. After a moment of silence, he threw his bean bag. It was a direct hit.

"This is easy," he murmured to me with a smirk.

I didn't respond in fear of the person running the booth hearing. I watched Matadora pick up another bean bag, patiently waiting for the milk cartons to be re-stacked. It was obvious by the look on his face that he was concentrating.

He tossed, and landed another direct hit. I tried not to show much emotion. I didn't want him to know that I was actually kind of impressed.

"Last one!" Matadora said, picking up his third and last bean bag.

He hesitated even after the cartons were stacked again. He looked like he was doing some deep analysis of his target as if he was a scientist. The bean bag slid around a little in his paw as he stared blankly.

Suddenly, seemingly within the blink of an eye, Matadora chucked the bean bag with all his might. It didn't even hit the center of the milk cartons, but they all still flew around at the sheer force. I couldn't hold myself back.

"That was amazing, Matadora! I had no idea you were so good at that!" I gushed, not even trying to hide how impressed I was.

Matadora glanced over at me and smirked.

"What are my prize choices?" he asked the man running the booth.

The man responded by gesturing to a shelf of mostly medium-sized plushies.

"Hmm… interesting," he said, his smirk growing. "Alright. Choose a prize, my king."

My entire body jerked. I was completely taken aback by that.

"Wh-what?" I stuttered.

There's no way he said what I thought he did!

"Choose a prize," Matadora repeated.

My cheeks reddened profusely.

"B-b-but you won it…"

Matadora waved his paw from side to side.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk! You're the king, you deserve it more than I do. Besides, I can win something else at another booth. It's my job to make you happy. Now choose a prize! Choose one's that cute! One that you like! One that makes you happy!"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Despite my disbelief, I knew there was no point in trying to argue.

"O-okay…"

I scanned my options. None of them were incredibly desirable, but there was one that stood out to me.

"The white seal…," I murmured quietly.

I haven't done this in a long time. It was rather embarrassing.

"Here you go!" the owner of the booth said, handing me the plush.

It was softer than I expected. I held it against my chest, hugging it slightly. I flinched when I saw Matadora looking at me.

"Come, king. We have more games to play," he said, gesturing for me to follow him.

...

My feet hurt. We've been to several booths now, and Matadora won a prize at almost every single one. He's apparently stuck in the mindset of being a knight, because he continues to call me "King Wang" and has let me claim most of the prizes he won.

I feel like I don't deserve all these plushies, but Matadora is too stubborn to argue with. All of "my" prizes except for the seal from the first booth were tucked in the fourth-dimensional sleeves on my shirt. As time went on I started to really like the seal, and I'm not sure why.

"Can we take a break, Matadora? I'm getting sore," I said.

"Of course. Where do you want to sit?" Matadora asked.

I looked around.

"Well, I don't see any tables around here. Guess we'll have to go find one."

Without a word, Matadora grabbed my shirt and led me onwards. I'm assuming he's taking me to go find a table to sit at.

After a few minutes of walking around, we spotted Dora-Med lll, Dora the Kid and Dora-Nichov sitting at a table together. We immediately went over to the three and sat down.

"How are you guys liking this fair?" I asked.

"This place is so fun! I'm really enjoying it-aru," Med answered cheerfully.

Despite how happy he was, I could tell he was exhausted.

"It's pretty nice. I feel like the game booths are kinda boring, though. The attractions that you use your wristbands for are much funner," Kid answered.

"(The booths are the best part,)" Nichov woofed.

Kid didn't try to argue, to my relief.

"Are you two having fun-aru?" Med asked.

I glanced at Matadora awkwardly. Should I mention the instances in the bounce house?

"Y-yeah. The… bounce house was really fun," I answered awkwardly.

Kid tilted his head to the side curiously.

"How did you get in? It has a height limit," he said.

"There's another one on the other side of the fair," Matadora answered.

"(Rinho and I tried it out. The game they were playing was kinda weird…,)" Nichov muttered.

"I wish I knew there was another one before I got so tired-aru," Med said under his breath.

"The knight game, right? Matadora and I played it too," I said.

Nichov simply nodded.

"I protected King Wang from the dragon!" Matadora proudly announced.

Everyone except me stared at him awkwardly. I shoved my head beneath the table out of embarrassment. Why did I mention the bounce house?

"You mean you and Wang actually got along?" Kid asked.

Med chuckled at that, but he said nothing.

"It's my duty to protect him and make him happy," Matadora said with a nod.

He put a paw on his chest as he spoke, as if he was swearing an oath. The other three stared at him in shock.

"(It's just a game, you know,)" Nichov growled.

Matadora shrugged.

"Nothing wrong with using your imagination," he said.

"No, but you're never this nice to Wang. It's almost as if that game has completely changed your personality," Kid remarked.

He sounded concerned, almost afraid.

"You're overreacting," Matadora hissed.

I raised my head back up onto the table, not saying a word. It sounded like a fight was going to break out.

"Alright guys, relax-aru. There's no need to fight-aru," Med said.

Matadora crossed his arms, but didn't say anything. Kid silently looked down at the table.

"Well, I think this trip has been rather fun. I'm glad I came," I said in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"I'm so happy you're enjoying yourself," Matadora immediately replied, with a faint smirk.

What's gotten into him? Did he hit his head while we were in the bounce house?

"(H-have you guys won any prizes at the booths?)" Nichov woofed.

"Matadora won a bunch of stuffed animals," I replied, looking down at the seal clutched tightly in my paws.

"All I won was a tiny giraffe plushie for Dorami," Kid muttered.

There was a hint of jealousy in his voice.

"I suck at those kinds of games-aru. I couldn't win a thing-aru… Rinho was generous enough to give me a little teddy bear he won though-aru," Med said.

"How thoughtful of him," Matadora murmured, glancing at me.

"(I won a couple of tiny things, but not much. The games are harder than I remember,)" Nichov woofed.

Everyone's answers made me feel strangely guilty about Matadora's unnatural generosity. He won five decent-sized plushies just for me, and everyone else couldn't win anything close to that! It would be selfish, and against my morals, to keep all of these to myself, but I doubt Matadora would let me give them away.

"You okay, Wang? You look down," Kid said.

"I-I'm fine, just tired…," I answered quietly.

"You can say that again-aru…," Med muttered.

"Maybe we should start heading home soon. I'm tired as well," Kid added.

Nichov nodded in agreement.

"That depends on how Doraemon and Rinho are doing," Matadora pointed out.

"I haven't heard from them since we got here. Anyone know what they're up to?" I asked.

"I saw Doraemon over by the miniature roller coaster about half an hour ago. Haven't seen Rinho in ages," Kid said.

"I saw Rinho by the booths not that long ago-aru. He looked like he was having a good time-aru," Med added.

"Nice to know they're having fun, but we need to know if they're ready to go home," I said.

"We could go look for them," Kid proposed.

"Might as well-aru. We won't accomplish anything by sitting here-aru."

Med stood up as he spoke. The others, including me, did the same.

...

"I'm so tired….," Rinho groaned, leaning on a table.

"We all are, Rinho. I think everyone's ready to go home," I told him.

It honestly surprised me that Rinho appeared to be completely drained of energy. I had no idea that was even possible.

"Thank goodness… I'm ready to go home and sleep," Rinho muttered as he stood up straight.

I led Rinho back to where the others were waiting. Everyone was hunched over and their eyes were dull. It's as if nobody had enough energy to even express an emotion.

"You guys ready to go home and hit the sack?" Kid asked with a yawn.

All of us nodded slowly. Doraemon led us through the exit to the fair. He then immediately dismissed all of us to go back home. We all said our goodbyes before heading out.

As I walked away from the clearing, I felt a tug on my shirt. I paused and turned around.

"Matadora? What are you doing?" I asked, trying not to shiver as a brief gust hit me.

"You're still my king," Matadora remarked, smirking. "Please, let me take you home. It'll be faster."

I yawned and rubbed my eyes.

"Okay…," I mumbled, too tired to resist.

Matadora took my paw and led me back towards the clearing. I couldn't even bring myself to sigh when I saw a bull standing patiently on the concrete.

"A bull…?" I murmured drowsily.

"Faster than walking," Matadora said.

He helped me climb on, and by climb on I mean drag myself upwards. I could barely keep my eyes open at this point. My body was so cold, too…

Matadora adjusted himself on the saddle before patting his leg. I crawled over to him and curled up. My head rested on his thigh, just like in the bounce house…

I flinched when I felt fabric touching me. My blush returned for the umpteenth time when I realized Matadora had laid his cape over me like a blanket. I immediately felt warmer now that the cold air couldn't blow on me as much.

The gentle rocking from the bull walking was incredibly relaxing. At this point I could tell my body had given up. I was gonna fall asleep in Matadora's lap whether I wanted to or not.

Matadora looked down at me and rested a paw on my back. I had no energy to react. In fact, I had no energy to do _anything_.

I could faintly hear Matadora murmur, "Goodnight, my king…" into my ear before my vision faded to black.


End file.
